Tufts Medical School Huge Class Portrait with Two Graduating Female Students, 1923

Tufts Univesity Medical School

Photograph

[Women's History][Women's Education][Women in Science and Medicine] Tufts Medical School 1923 graduating class portrait featuring two female graduates. Panoramic silver gelatin photograph. 1923. Approx. 19 x 7.5 in., framed to 22 x 10.5 in. Dark wood frame, hanging wire attached. Panoramic class portrait capturing the 1923 graduating class of Tufts Medical School, notably featuring two female graduates at a time when women still constituted a small minority in the field of medicine. The image shows 44 students and faculty in full academic regalia, with the two women clearly visible among their peers, positioned in the front row and at the far left, both wearing the same cap and gown ensemble as their male counterparts. Their inclusion offers a rare and tangible visual record of the slow but growing inclusion of women in American medical education in the early 20th century, a development that remained the subject of considerable social resistance. While coeducation in medical schools became more common after World War I, women remained significantly underrepresented. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, women made up just 4.4% of all U.S. medical school students in 1920. Tufts Medical School, which has remained coeducational since its founding in 1893, was among the progressive institutions that accepted female students early on. The presence of women in this image is particularly significant against the backdrop of evolving gender roles following the passage of the 19th Amendment just three years earlier in 1920. Their appearance in a class photo from a prestigious medical institution not affirms the inroads women made in education during this era. Lower right corner includes the imprint of “Rowe Photo, 35 Court St., Boston”. Photo retains strong contrast and detail. Wood Frame shows scattered scuffing. Overall very good condition. An exceptional image of early women physicians breaking barriers in a male-dominated profession.

Item #22553

Price: $285.00